Watchtower group buys former FAA training center in Palm Coast

The former Federal Aviation Administration training facility in Palm Coast has been vacant since January 2013 and includes several buildings that house some 200 dormitory rooms, eight classrooms and an indoor swimming pool.

Published: Wednesday, July 2, 2014 at 10:53 a.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, July 3, 2014 at 12:35 p.m.

PALM COAST — The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York has purchased the former Federal Aviation Administration training facility in Palm Coast.

The sale of the property for $7.025 million was finalized Friday, said Rodney Cruise, vice president for administration at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach. Embry-Riddle owned the resort-like complex and had leased it to the FAA since 1987.

“We’re excited about Watchtower’s plans,” Cruise said Wednesday. “They’re going to put in place what will continue to be an economic engine for the city of Palm Coast.”

Messages left with Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York Inc., a corporation used by Jehovah’s Witnesses, were not returned Wednesday.

Cruise said Embry-Riddle had received other offers for the property, but wanted a buyer who could guarantee to contribute to the local economy and “protect the natural beauty of Palm Coast Parkway.”

“I can’t express how important it was to Embry-Riddle to find a buyer that we felt would provide the same type of stewardship to that property that Embry-Riddle did,” Cruise said.

The facility, which has been vacant since January 2013, includes several buildings that house some 200 dormitory rooms, eight classrooms and an indoor swimming pool.

Embry-Riddle sold it, Cruise said, because it had no use for the property after the FAA contract ended. Officials took several months to determine whether they could use the building for their own benefit but decided the university was better off selling the property, he said.

“I could never express what a pleasure it was to do business with them,” Cruise said of the Watchtower people he worked with during the sale.

“They felt the facility was perfect for their needs,” he said. “It’s going to be a training facility, very much like the FAA used.”

Cruise said communication between the two sides began after a member of the organization who lives in Palm Coast spotted the real estate listing and brought it to the attention of Watchtower.

The 2014 appraised value of the property is $8,831,305, according to the Flagler County Property Appraiser’s Office.

The property was under tax-exempt status while the FAA used it and there is a good chance the same will go for the Watchtower group because it is a religious organization. Flagler County Property Appraiser James E. Gardner Jr. said he would wait and see what the application looks like.

“It all depends on what they plan to do with (the building), but it’s possible it will be off the tax roll,” Gardner said.

Palm Coast Senior Planner Beau Falgout said he first learned there was an interested buyer in May when he started looking for temporary locations for the city’s administrative offices. He asked specifically about the FAA building and was told there was an “interested party” that was ready to close on it quickly.

“We have someone who is investing multiple millions in Palm Coast and that’s a good thing,” Falgout said of the Watchtower deal.

In February 2013, Embry-Riddle officials thought they had a potential buyer when a representatives from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs visited the property.

Both university and Flagler County officials said the VA was interested in relocating its law enforcement training facility there, but no deal was ever reached.

Agency officials later said they were interested only in the computer hardware that was left behind by the FAA and not the property itself.

<p><span class="Dateline">PALM COAST —</span> The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York has purchased the former Federal Aviation Administration training facility in Palm Coast.</p><p>The sale of the property for $7.025 million was finalized Friday, said Rodney Cruise, vice president for administration at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach. Embry-Riddle owned the resort-like complex and had leased it to the FAA since 1987.</p><p>“We’re excited about Watchtower’s plans,” Cruise said Wednesday. “They’re going to put in place what will continue to be an economic engine for the city of Palm Coast.”</p><p>Messages left with Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York Inc., a corporation used by Jehovah’s Witnesses, were not returned Wednesday.</p><p>Cruise said Embry-Riddle had received other offers for the property, but wanted a buyer who could guarantee to contribute to the local economy and “protect the natural beauty of Palm Coast Parkway.”</p><p>“I can’t express how important it was to Embry-Riddle to find a buyer that we felt would provide the same type of stewardship to that property that Embry-Riddle did,” Cruise said.</p><p>The facility, which has been vacant since January 2013, includes several buildings that house some 200 dormitory rooms, eight classrooms and an indoor swimming pool.</p><p>Embry-Riddle sold it, Cruise said, because it had no use for the property after the FAA contract ended. Officials took several months to determine whether they could use the building for their own benefit but decided the university was better off selling the property, he said.</p><p>“I could never express what a pleasure it was to do business with them,” Cruise said of the Watchtower people he worked with during the sale.</p><p>“They felt the facility was perfect for their needs,” he said. “It’s going to be a training facility, very much like the FAA used.”</p><p>Cruise said communication between the two sides began after a member of the organization who lives in Palm Coast spotted the real estate listing and brought it to the attention of Watchtower.</p><p>The 2014 appraised value of the property is $8,831,305, according to the Flagler County Property Appraiser’s Office.</p><p>The property was under tax-exempt status while the FAA used it and there is a good chance the same will go for the Watchtower group because it is a religious organization. Flagler County Property Appraiser James E. Gardner Jr. said he would wait and see what the application looks like.</p><p>“It all depends on what they plan to do with (the building), but it’s possible it will be off the tax roll,” Gardner said.</p><p>Palm Coast Senior Planner Beau Falgout said he first learned there was an interested buyer in May when he started looking for temporary locations for the city’s administrative offices. He asked specifically about the FAA building and was told there was an “interested party” that was ready to close on it quickly.</p><p>“We have someone who is investing multiple millions in Palm Coast and that’s a good thing,” Falgout said of the Watchtower deal.</p><p>In February 2013, Embry-Riddle officials thought they had a potential buyer when a representatives from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs visited the property. </p><p>Both university and Flagler County officials said the VA was interested in relocating its law enforcement training facility there, but no deal was ever reached.</p><p>Agency officials later said they were interested only in the computer hardware that was left behind by the FAA and not the property itself.</p>